In the face of a volatile macroeconomic environment, FEMSA Comercio produced another set of excellent results.
Total revenues rose 19.0% to Ps. 74.112 billion. Our revenue growth came from our continued store expansion and our comparable same-store sales growth—driven by a balanced increase in store traffic and an improvement in average customer ticket. For the year, our same-store sales growth came in above the trend, reinforcing our position as an industry benchmark.
Gross profit grew 21.1% to Ps. 25.476 billion, resulting in a 60 basis point gross margin expansion to 34.4% of total revenues. Gain in gross margin largely resulted from our effective revenue management, our positive collaboration with our key supplier partners—combined with a more efficient use of promotion-related marketing resources—and our improved mix of higher margin products and services.
Income from operations increased 20.7% to Ps. 6.276 billion. Our higher operating expenses reflect our growing number of stores, as well as our strengthening of FEMSA Comercio’s organizational structure—including management and information technology-related projects. For the year, our operating margin expanded 10 basis points to 8.5% of total revenues.
Total revenues rose 19.0% to Ps. 74.112 billion. Our revenue growth came from our continued store expansion and our comparable same-store sales growth—driven by a balanced increase in store traffic and an improvement in average customer ticket. For the year, our same-store sales growth came in above the trend, reinforcing our position as an industry benchmark.
Gross profit grew 21.1% to Ps. 25.476 billion, resulting in a 60 basis point gross margin expansion to 34.4% of total revenues. Gain in gross margin largely resulted from our effective revenue management, our positive collaboration with our key supplier partners—combined with a more efficient use of promotion-related marketing resources—and our improved mix of higher margin products and services.
Income from operations increased 20.7% to Ps. 6.276 billion. Our higher operating expenses reflect our growing number of stores, as well as our strengthening of FEMSA Comercio’s organizational structure—including management and information technology-related projects. For the year, our operating margin expanded 10 basis points to 8.5% of total revenues.
Growth
2011 was a very strong year for our same-store sales growth, increasing an average of 9.2% compared with the prior year. Our progress in mapping and understanding consumers’ needs and adjusting our value proposition to better fulfill those needs significantly contributed to our same store sales. Moreover, we achieved a healthy balance between store traffic and average customer ticket, which improved 4.6% and 4.3% for the year.
Our stores’ performance—which exceeded the long-term trend—also benefited from the closer logistics support offered by our addition of one new distribution center in the Valley of Mexico and the expansion of the one in Monterrey for a total of 13 across Mexico. The growth in our distribution centers brings them nearer to our stores, enabling us to increase the frequency of our centers’ store visits and the quantity and variety of SKUs available at our stores. This, in turn, drives greater sales growth by allowing us to enhance our product offering to stimulate and satisfy our consumers’ needs.
In addition to our same-store sales growth, we continued to build on our leadership position as Mexico’s largest and fastest growing modern convenience store chain. In 2011, we opened a record 1,135 new stores—an average of 3 per day—for a total of 9,561 stores nationwide. We also expanded our store openings to new non-traditional locations, including shopping malls and airports, where we now operate small, high-traffic stores.
Beyond Mexico, we continue to make progress in Colombia, where we are finding the right value proposition for the stores by experimenting with such variables as size, format, layout, location, and assortment. As we advance our understanding of this promising new market, we are incrementally expanding our network of stores in the capital city of Bogota, from 17 at the end of 2010 to 23 at the end of 2011.
2011 was a very strong year for our same-store sales growth, increasing an average of 9.2% compared with the prior year. Our progress in mapping and understanding consumers’ needs and adjusting our value proposition to better fulfill those needs significantly contributed to our same store sales. Moreover, we achieved a healthy balance between store traffic and average customer ticket, which improved 4.6% and 4.3% for the year.
Our stores’ performance—which exceeded the long-term trend—also benefited from the closer logistics support offered by our addition of one new distribution center in the Valley of Mexico and the expansion of the one in Monterrey for a total of 13 across Mexico. The growth in our distribution centers brings them nearer to our stores, enabling us to increase the frequency of our centers’ store visits and the quantity and variety of SKUs available at our stores. This, in turn, drives greater sales growth by allowing us to enhance our product offering to stimulate and satisfy our consumers’ needs.
In addition to our same-store sales growth, we continued to build on our leadership position as Mexico’s largest and fastest growing modern convenience store chain. In 2011, we opened a record 1,135 new stores—an average of 3 per day—for a total of 9,561 stores nationwide. We also expanded our store openings to new non-traditional locations, including shopping malls and airports, where we now operate small, high-traffic stores.
Beyond Mexico, we continue to make progress in Colombia, where we are finding the right value proposition for the stores by experimenting with such variables as size, format, layout, location, and assortment. As we advance our understanding of this promising new market, we are incrementally expanding our network of stores in the capital city of Bogota, from 17 at the end of 2010 to 23 at the end of 2011.
